World

York, England’s rainbow memorial plaque celebrating Anne Lister, known as the “first modern lesbian,” did not actually include the word “lesbian” — but after activist outcry, it will be replaced to include the term.

An online petition to change the wording of the plaque, which described her as a “gender non-conforming entrepreneur,” received more than 2,500 signatures.

“Anne Lister was, most definitely, gender non-conforming all her life. She was also however, a lesbian. Don't let them erase this iconic woman from our history," it read, reported the BBC.

York Civic Trust, the group behind the plaque, have ultimately decided to unveil a new version of the plaque with the word “lesbian.”

The plaque is on the side of the Holy Trinity Church, where Lister was unofficially married to her partner, Ann Walker, in 1834. Her diaries tell the story of her life and lesbian love affairs, and were recognized as “pivotal” historical British documents by the United Nations in 2011.